


Sparks

by myotishia



Series: All ye who enter here [12]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: I'm trying not to be too emo, Ianto might get a kind of date out of this, It's tough when they're all walking disasters, There's some drama and some fluff in this one
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-08-20 06:24:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20223268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myotishia/pseuds/myotishia
Summary: A new five star hotel opens in Cardiff attracting people from quite a distance, and attracting Torchwoods attention. Meanwhile power surges are damaging seemingly random places around the city.





	1. Five stars

**Author's Note:**

> New reader? Start right [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18551278)

Martha had returned to the hub the next afternoon, curious as to what other cases they had at the time. It had been a surprise when she was told they were spending the afternoon just tidying up loose ends. She enjoyed just swapping stories with Jack and seeing Gwen open her baby shower gift from Elise. It was early but as she already knew about it she may as well open it. A tiny pteranodon onesie, complete with little wings, and a set of little baby ear defenders because, “she’s going to end up around here at some point and it’s better to be safe than sorry.” It was only partially a joke. 

Before Martha left Jack told her she was always welcome to join them if UNIT did collapse and she could visit if she wanted to. She’d assured him she would visit when she could and she’d keep in touch. Even though it had only been a day she felt like she was saying goodbye to old friends and that was what made the difference between UNIT and Torchwood. You weren’t just doing your job for a nebulous ideal. You were doing it to protect your family. She had just sat in her car when her phone rang. 

“Major. I’m just on my way back now.”

“Good but I have some disturbing news.”

“Oh?”

“Captain Wells wasn’t found at the crash site.”

“He couldn’t have got far.”

“I’d agree but we’ve swept the area and after the trail of blood stopped we completely lost track of him.”

“I can’t believe he even got out of the drivers seat.”

“I didn’t believe it either. We have a team working on locating him, or at least his body. I thought you should be aware.”

Two months passed, spending time taking the shark apart, clearing any trace of the black eyed kids and men in black, seeing Gwen off to start her maternity leave even if she didn’t want to. She did appreciate having time to plan and nest though. It was a week before comicon and the city was abuzz with excitement. The masses getting the last bit of shopping done before Christmas, seemingly all at once, and a new five star hotel opening up. It had sprang up almost overnight ready for the holiday rush. It had been incredibly popular as the prices it charged for its rooms were strangely low. Promotional information said it was because everything was 90% automated so there were barely any staff costs. The hotel of the future. Who knew if it was worth the hype. The news was more interested with the city's electrical issues. For no reason there had been an influx in random power surges. The latest being so powerful that a man was electrocuted, hand still clasped around the half melted mouse of his desktop computer. Owen read over the coroner's report with a mix of amusement and horror on his face. 

“Are you browsing fourchan again?” Tosh asked.

“No, I’ve found something worse.”

She looked over her glasses at him. “Worse?”

“The last power surge killed someone so I thought I’d see what the coroner report said. The news said his mouse was melted to his hand. They didn’t mention where his other hand was.”

Tosh cringed as she realised what Owen meant. “So when the electricity -”

“Yep.”

“I wish I hadn’t asked. Were you thinking it might have been a case for us?”

“Well yea. The bloke was fried but only the mouse and keyboard were damaged. Nothing else was touched.”

“Really?” She scooted her chair closer. “I assumed the whole thing had exploded.”

“The police say the monitor and tower were completely untouched.”

“I’ll see if there’s a pattern to the surges.”

“And while you’re doing that Owen can come with me.” Jack said as he swept past.

He pushed away from his desk. “Where are we going?”

“Your native habitat.”

“I try not to drink in the middle of the day anymore.”

The captain rolled his eyes. “Your other natural habitat.”

“The hospital, got it. Why?”

Madeline had been brought to the hospital by her concerned family. After a weekend off with her boyfriend she had forgotten who they were. She didn’t even seem distressed about it. Owen didn’t like the way she smiled. No one was that happy in hospital unless they’d just been given the all clear. Madeline sat up in bed with a beaming smile on her face, sheets barely disturbed. She looked more like a mannequin than a human until she finally spoke.

“Is there something I can help you with doctor?” She asked in a sickeningly sweet manner. 

“I’ve been told you’re having some memory issues.”

“I’ve been told that too but I feel just fine.”

“It doesn’t bother you that you don’t remember your friends or family?”

“Not really. They’re a lot more upset than I am.”

He looked through her chart. “You’ve declined any kind of scan.”

“Yes. I did not like the idea of anything so invasive.”

“Would you mind if I examined you?”

“I don’t mind.” 

He had a very strong suspicion as to what was going on with this woman but he hoped he was wrong. Nothing visible in her eyes which ruled out one parasite. He had the pocket sized scanner hidden in his palm, carefully shooting glances at the screen so she wouldn’t notice. Slipping it down his sleeve he smiled softly at her.

“Well, I’ll have to speak to my colleagues and get back to you. Just rest for now.” 

“Thank you doctor.” She beamed. 

The second Owen had closed the door behind him Jack spoke up. “What do you think?”

“I think there’s something living inside her skull. No brain matter left.”

“Damn. Think it’s worth questioning her?”

“She knows what she’s doing so yea. She refused any scan that would show the parasite.” 

“Tell her the usual transfer story.”

“She’ll have to be sedated.”

“Do what you have to.”

Owen looked back through the glass of the door to see the bed empty and the window wide open. The two men ran over and looked down, expecting to see a corpse as they were three floors up. There was a large splatter of blood but no body. Screams rose from the car park as Madeline's body bounded on all fours gruesomely, legs shattered, past staff and patients alike. She moved inhumanly quickly, feeling no pain from the damage. She or rather it, having no particular concept of gender, wasn’t sure what that human knew but he knew something and that meant it needed to escape. Its vessel could be replaced, and would need to be after this, but its true self could not. It needed to get back to get a replacement and try blending in again. Its friendly approach hadn’t worked. Even though the humans found friendliness to be a positive feature its constant use was apparently unnerving. It was considering what approach it should take with its next host, once the perfect one was found, when it ran across a road and found itself crushed beneath the large tires of a bus that had been going faster than it probably should have been. 

Jack wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad thing that Madeline's body had been hit. The driver and passengers were shaken but to them it had just been the case of a woman running into the road so that wasn’t an issue, but the thing in Madeline's head couldn’t be questioned now it was dead. Either way transporting the body was unpleasant. The smell wasn’t an issue, he was used to that, the problem was moving the bus off the corpse without causing more damage. By the time they were done they had all the parts bar one broken leg that had been torn free as it had made its ill fated escape and three fingers that Owen theorised were stuck inside the wheel well of the bus. Those parts weren’t important and there was no point in spending the next six hours searching for the severed limb that would eventually end up being cremated as it held no use. He hated parasitic beings as some were hard to recognise at a glance at first, but all of them had very little care for their hosts body. Usually they would abandon it at the first time of danger but this one hadn’t. This one was using it to go somewhere. Where he wasn’t sure. He was sure of very little involving this case, but one thing he was certain of was that this parasite was not alone. 

The sites of each power surge followed no obvious pattern. They popped up randomly around the city with no particular preference for time or type of building. What Tosh had found was that the man who died in his computer chair had technically not been its first victim. One of the first surges had caused a fire that left two people with extensive burns. The surge had destroyed the fire alarms so the two were lucky to be alive at all. She’d also found that the term ‘surge’ wasn’t completely accurate. It wasn’t something that shot from the source to an end point. It pulled itself together at the site of the damage and acted in a very targeted manner. She’d also found it had a sense of humour, a twisted sense of humour. The first occurrence had been in the kitchen of a restaurant, destroying their refrigeration system in the middle of the night. The second had damaged the cameras protecting a security solutions office. The third had damaged the alarms in a bed store so they would not deactivate. It started out as juvenile level pranks but after the fire alarms left two with life changing injuries it was clear it was ramping up. The television in a nursery had its station changed to the horror channel and it couldn’t be changed to anything else. Every single electric heater in a nursing home was destroyed. Then came the first direct attack. She doubted it would be the last. At least now they knew it was definitely sentient, capable of planning, and aware of the consequences of its actions. Looking back over the list everything effected had been plugged in. None of the devices were battery powered so it had travelled through the wires. Theoretically anyway. She could try and prevent anymore damage by making each substation, connected to whatever the surge was targeting, temporarily shut down. Hopefully that could act as a barrier for it until they could work out how to catch or kill the thing. 

Tosh stretched and sighed finding the hub rather lonely with everyone else out. Ianto and Elise had gone to hunt for a few parts to repair the lift. Time had taken its toll and something finally gave. Ianto had spent the evening before taping the area off as it had to stay at its highest point for repairs but that meant the possibility of falling metal. It would be a health and safety nightmare if they actually followed any kind of health and safety laws. If they did they wouldn’t be able to work. She tried to think of it as part of the hubs patchwork charm. It was all held together with years of small repairs that had probably long replaced the original materials. It made the place feel more cosy, lived in. Of course it was, in fact, lived in. She sometimes wondered why Jack stayed in the hub to sleep. She knew he had the funds to live wherever he wanted or at least make an area inside the hub that was more like a home but he never did. Ianto had told her that all Jack had in his ‘room’ was a bed, some storage and photos. It was less of a room and more of a nest. A place to sleep once in a blue moon and reminisce about times long past. The hub had a kind of life of its own and Jack was its heart. He and it were part of the same entity. A universal constant, always there protecting everything around. The very existence of Torchwood, for all of the horrors they faced, had become a comfort. A safe place. 

Owen had worked out how the parasite had entered Madeleine's skull. Her soft palate was gone, replaced by the pink flesh of the creature. It would easily be missed at first glance but it was a huge red flag upon closer inspection. Long tendrils reached down into the spinal cord to replace the brain stem. The damage to the soft tissues around the site of entry told of the creature eating its way in with a set of razor sharp pincers. The eyes were held in place and connected to the parasite with two more tendrils growing from the creatures head. With the creature removed the skull was hollow and the body showed few signs of decomposition other than what had set in since it had been run over. The parasite couldn’t have been there for more than a couple of days. He could either write up the report and ask Tosh to look up where this woman had been or look for himself and let Tosh continue with the electrical phenomenon. Whatever meant he could put off annoying busywork. A loud clang pulled him from his pseudo procrastination. A chunk of the lift had dropped and he looked up to see Elise waving.

“Sorry.” She called down. “Stay away from the taped off zone, ok?”

“Naa I’ll just stand underneath and try and catch big fuck off chunks of steel with my head. Need a hand?”

“Nope. I’m nearly done. That was a bit of the old casing that came loose from my belt.”

“Don’t hang things on your belt then!” 

“I’m not going up and down to drop things off every time.” She began to descend the rope attached to her harness, Owen steadying her as she reached the floor. “Thanks. All done. I’m surprised it survived this long to be honest.”

“It’s held together by our lost hopes and dreams.”

She unhooked her harness and stepped out of it. “I thought Jack was the dramatic one.”

“It spreads to all of us sometimes. It’s like a cold.” He smirked. “Being as you’re not busy now, fancy writing up a report for me?”

“Owen, I’m not writing your reports for you. I’m not a doctor and I can’t translate your chicken scratch like Tosh can. What are you going to do in the meantime anyway?”

“I need to find where our newest body spent her last few days.”

“Oh look, something I can do while you get to that report.” 

“Eli why?” He mock pouted.

“You walked into it, sorry. Anyway, it’ll take you like ten minutes.”

“A very boring ten minutes.”

“The sooner it’s done, the sooner you can get to something more interesting.”

He sighed and plodded to his desk.

“So, what have we got so far?” Asked Jack, his mug of coffee warming his hands. 

Owen crossed his arms. “The parasite crawled in through Madeleine's mouth and ate her brain before replacing it a couple of days ago at most.”

“Other than her home and the hospital the only place she’s been is two nights spent at the Starlight plaza hotel with her boyfriend.” Elise knew this would end up with someone speaking to the grieving man and she really didn’t want to be it. 

“Looks like we’re going to have to talk to the boyfriend. Tosh, can you get in contact with the hotel, see if they’ve noticed anything strange.” The captain continued.

Tosh looked up. “I’ve tried but everything’s automated. The only staff they have are a housekeeping manager, kitchen staff who are contracted in and maintenance staff who are also contracted in from another company.”

“And the owner?”

“The owner is missing. Sort of.”

“Sort of?”

“Well his social media is being updated but he hasn’t been seen in person for a month. I hacked into his twitter and there hasn’t been a live tweet since last Tuesday. The rest are automatically being sent once every six hours.”

“Looks like we’ll have to search the place in person.”

“That’s another problem. I’ve been researching the hotel. It doesn’t use key cards or anything like that, it uses your hand print to get everywhere. You register your hand print upon check in and that’s what allows you to get around the hotel. Even the staff have to. No matter what you do it’s recorded for their billing system and security.”

“What about their security team?”

“They don’t have one. If someone manages to get in without authorisation as soon as they’re detected whatever room they’re in locks down until the police arrive. In the event of a fire all doors become one way while the sprinkler system fights the fire.”

“So the only way in is as a guest.”

“It looks like it.”

“Ok, Elise, Owen, I want you both to go and speak to the boyfriend.”

Owen raised an eyebrow. “And what are you going to be doing?”

“Planning a short break.”

Damien looked like hell wearing a loose t shirt and jogging bottoms, smelling of cheap alcohol and rubbing at his bloodshot eyes. It’s amazing how fast grief could send a man into a spiral. He’d let Owen and Elise in but had barely said a word as he staggered back into his living room. 

“I’m sorry for your loss. We only have a few questions and then we’ll leave you be.” Elise said softly.

Damien looked up with one bleary eye. “My life is over. What answers could you need?”

“We’re just trying to find out what happened to Madeline.”

“She was fine until… Until the night before we checked out.”

“What happened that night?”

“Nothing I remember… It was the next morning she was… Just different… I don’t understand.” Tears fell down the mans face and he grabbed a mostly empty bottle of whisky and downed it in one as if it would stop the pain. It wouldn’t.

“Sir is there anyone who can be with you right now?”

“Maddie was all I had… It was like she didn’t recognise me… And then… Oh god…” He sobbed, curling into a ball on the sofa, not caring that there were other people around. 

Elise looked over at Owen, not sure what to do. 

“Call the police and see if they can get him on suicide watch. I’m going to sweep the house and make sure he can’t hurt himself.” Owen said softly, standing and heading for the kitchen. He’d been where this man was and it was a cold, dark, desperate, place. Knives, any pain killers and what was left of the alcohol all went into a bag. He’d had one of his friends do this for him while he was in the hospital being watched 24/7 and sedated so he couldn’t hurt himself or anyone else. Any laces, belts, ties or thin bed sheets went in the bag too. The man was too drunk to tie a knot right now but he wouldn’t be forever. If Jack hadn’t dragged Owen into Torchwood he wondered if any of this would have stopped him ending it all. It didn’t stop him trying to sabotage his life but at least he had a life to try and sabotage. Part of him wondered how much Jack actually knew. How many times he’d dragged the good doctor home so he didn’t end up waking up on the street. Especially in the early days. But that was Jack, always trying to keep an eye on you so you didn’t do anything you couldn’t go back from. He’d let you feel like hell and be an idiot but not do anything too permanent. 

Owen hid the bag at the back of a cupboard, under some dusty boxes that clearly hadn’t been moved in a long time. Usually it’d be removed from the house but that wasn’t in his job description. Technically none of this was in his job description but he refused to feel responsible if this guy died. Downstairs he heard a knock at the door and Elise answer, directing a police officer and a couple of paramedics to where Damien was curled up. 

Ianto pushed the large box that housed Monty into its place under the shelving unit. 

“He’s complete for now then?” Asked jack, leaning in the doorway. 

“For now. What’s up? You don’t usually venture down here without a reason.”

“I was thinking we could have a couple of nights at the Starlight plaza.”

Ianto paused before narrowing his eyes. “This isn’t a holiday, is it?”

“It could be if there’s nothing there. And even if there is we can get at least one good night out of it.”

“I’ve been dragged to worse places, but can we please do something that isn’t about work at some point? Just once?”

“I’ll try.”

“That’s all I ask.”

“Good, you should go and pack.”

“Now?”

“Right now. Tosh is booking the room.”

“Before you knew if I’d come with you?”

“One, I knew you would and two, it’s always nice to sleep in a huge bed once in a while.”

“You can do that all the time, I don’t know if anyone’s told you. Big beds are one of those things you can buy.” 

Jack chuckled. “My bed’s cosy.”

“That’s a polite way of saying small.”

“You don’t usually complain.”

“That’s because I’m not there for the bed. If I was I would drag you back to my place. But then I’d have to wake up even earlier for work.”

“You wake up early enough.”

“I need to wake up that early otherwise you would keep me so long I’d never get my duties done.”

“I like to sleep in.”

“If you actually slept most of the time I might believe you. Anyway, if we’re going to be creeping around this hotel then we might want this.” He pulled down a small box and handed it to Jack. “It’s the invisibility pendant.”

Jack got a mischievous smile on his face.


	2. cold light of morning

The Starlight plaza hotel was an outstanding example of what human technology could accomplish. The foyer was surrounded by frosted glass walls illuminated from below with a soft ambient light. The front desk was more of a stand for the screens used for check in, a realistic avatar with a polite but chipper voice. 

“Welcome to the Starlight plaza. To begin your check in please enter your booking code here.” It said the moment the doors closed. 

Ianto tapped in the number while Jack surveyed the area, making a quick mental note of any cameras.

“Jack, I need your hand print too.” 

“Hmm? Oh.” He placed his hand against the screen, feeling a mild electrical buzz. Either their electrician wasn’t as competent as the rest of the set up presented or it was scanning for more than just a hand print.

“Thank you. We hope you have a wonderful stay.” The smiling avatar said before gesturing towards the lift. “This way please.”

Stepping back the floor lifted slightly. By testing the weight of the area the system could tell if you had heavy luggage with you. At least that was the company line. Ianto would much rather hold the bags, knowing a few of the items hidden inside were not strictly of terrestrial origin. 

The room was huge as they entered making quite the impression. After taking off his boots and tossing his coat aside Jack flopped back on the huge bed, hands tucked behind his head.

“While you’re getting comfortable what do you need me to do?” Ianto asked.

“Join me?” He sat up and patted the sheets next to him.

“We’re meant to be working.”

“We have plenty of time. We should make the most of it.”

“As nice as that sounds-”

“Just come here. I want to show you something.”

“I’ve fallen for that before.” The Welshman laughed, kicking his shoes aside. 

“I’m serious.” He lent forward and took Iantos hand, pulling him over and landing him on his back on the bed. Not giving him a chance to ask what, Jack pointed to the huge skylight that showed the full expanse of the clear December sky, stars bright. “I chose this room for a reason.”

Ianto lay wide eyed, staring int eternity. “It’s … Beautiful.”

“Still want to start this investigation or should we stay here?”

“Five more minutes.”

“Plus from what I’ve seen of the blueprints for this place all the rooms are soundproofed. A little disturbing from an outside perspective but useful.”

“Jack.”

“Yea?”

Ianto pulled him over by the collar, planting a soft kiss against his lips. “Know when to shut up.”

Tosh was curled up on the sofa staring at the screen of her laptop. She was trying to find a way to track the electrical anomaly, even though when Jack left he said they should all go home with that twinkle in his eyes that said he would not be working that night. To Toshiko this was just a puzzle to solve, just a few steps from complete. So close yet so far and it was driving her up the wall. It was bothering the entity as well by the way it would try and pull itself together before the fail safe cut the power and it had to dissipate once more. After that it would try somewhere else only to repeat the process. Using the fail safes she had managed to keep it within the city but it could still do damage. She couldn’t even be completely sure what it was made of. She was just assuming it was similar to electricity but most energy based creatures could theoretically travel via the power grid. The lights flickered and went out.

“Temper temper.” She smiled to herself, sure it was essentially slamming itself against the proverbial walls in frustration. Looking at a screen in the dark wasn’t the best for her eyes so she was relieved when the lights flickered back to life. The surges dissipated as the being either gave up for the night or had used up too much energy in its tantrum. Now she could settle in for the evening. An icy gust of wind blew in as the front door opened, Owen and Elise returning. Eli had been out getting her hair cut short as its length had just become a liability. 

“What happened? All the lights were out in the street when we pulled up.” Asked Owen, pulling off his coat.

“My fail safe in action. I think the electrical anomaly is getting frustrated.”

“Shame we can’t just short it out like a gremlin.”

“Gremlin?” Elise asked.

“Gremlins two? Electric gremlin?”

“Never seen it.”

“Well, I know what we’re watching tonight.”

Tosh thought for a moment. “Shorting it out might not be a bad idea but we’d need to isolate it. It needs a large amount of energy just to pull itself together so we could lure it in and then cut off its connection to the grid with a generator. Even if we can’t destroy it we could keep it contained.” 

“Good idea, but that’s for tomorrow.”

“It won’t take long-”

“Tosh.”

“But-”

“Please. We’ve had a long day and I don’t want to see the hub until tomorrow.” He gave his best puppy dog eyes.

“Ok. What happened earlier? You both got back and just went off. It was like you were avoiding talking.”

“That’s because I was.” He flopped into the sofa, trying to convey that he really didn’t want to get into it. 

Tosh, showing her naivety or refusal to accept being brushed off, moved her laptop and sank into the sofa next to him. “Why?”

“I don’t want to get into it right now.”

She looked to Elise who had sat on the floor where she usually did.

Eli didn’t need to look up as she grabbed the tv remote. “The boyfriend had been drinking since he got the news by the looks of it. He was kind of a mess so we called to have him put under observation. It was rough.”

“Oh… I…”

Owen sighed. “It’s ok. I just don’t want to think about it right now.”

Early the next morning, Jack, half dozing, studied the tattoo decorating Ianto's skin where the brand had marred his flesh. The red dragon vibrant even in the dim dawn light. Ianto always said Jack had a slight obsession with putting the Torchwood logo on literally everything so it had been a surprise when he’d kept it as part of the tattoo design. The Welshman was sound asleep, breathing softly, when a sudden flash of light shot through the room. Jack was suddenly very awake, trying to work out where it had come from. No luck. He slipped out of bed and grabbed a small modified usb stick from the overnight bag, slotting it into the charging port in the base of one of the tablets that controlled everything in the room. It was a little hacking tool Tosh had developed that would crack open most systems in seconds to allow easy access. The screen flickered for a moment before a new menu appeared at the side. As he had suspected from the electrical buzz from the check in scan the system had been collecting bio-metric data from the guests. Most parasites weren’t fussy about their hosts but these just might be. The guest list essentially became a sales listing for a new body. If the parasite crawled into Madeline in the middle of the night then they had to live in the hotel. 

Jack had partially hoped that the hotel would be a dead lead so they could just enjoy the break but it looked like they’d have to search the place in the morning. After breakfast of course. He’d learned from experience that facing anything stomach churning on an empty stomach was a bad idea that only lead to tasting bile later. 

Going by the blueprints he’d seen the only place he could think of to hide any of these parasitic creatures was the staff only area on the ground floor. It had been unusually large for a business that barely had any staff. The invisibility pendant would be essential, with the abundance of cameras all over the place, to hide them from prying parasite eyes. Depending on how many there were he might have to call in backup but that was all for morning Jack. Now Jack was much more interested in cuddling back down in bed. Just a couple more hours.

The hub was cold. The icy chill of a December morning slowly permeating the thick walls. The heating would have the place much more comfortable in only minutes but those minutes felt like hours. On cold days Ianto would have usually set it off early along with having their coffee ready. 

“I never thought I’d say this-” Owen grumbled, “-but I wish the tea boy was here.”

“Oh be nice.” Scolded Tosh softly, knowing he didn’t mean anything by the teasing. 

“I am being nice. It’s bloody freezing in here.”

“Heads up!” Elise called before tossing a small hand warmer to each of them. She kept them in her desk as she’d started having problems keeping her hands warm since her latest brush with death. 

The sound of Owens phone pulled their attention. He switched it to loudspeaker. 

“Morning.” Said Jack.

“You don’t need to check on us you know.”

“I know Tosh would make sure you got to work. Anyway, I’ve been browsing through the hotels computer system this morning. Everything’s set up to collect biometric data on the guests.”

“So that’s definitely where the parasite came from.”

“Yea. We’re going to take a look around. I need you all ready to jump in just in case we’re dealing with more of them than expected.”

“Will do. Want us to start heading over?”

“If you’ve got nothing else, sure.”

Owen looked over at Tosh as she had been wanting to get this electric gremlin dealt with. 

“I can work from the SUV. We don’t have a machine that could handle that much power yet anyway.” She said.

Jacks voice gave away his smile. “Good to hear. Can you try and infiltrate the hotels security system? The less chance of them seeing us coming the better.” 

“Who would I be if I couldn’t.”

“That’s what I like to hear.”

Ianto had to admit he’d enjoyed his small break and appreciated that Jack had tried to keep things relaxed as long as possible. He partially wondered if it would be possible to quietly deal with the parasitic creatures and enjoy the rest of the time they had. Maybe he shouldn’t push his luck. 

“Ready to go?” Asked Jack, slipping his earpiece on.

“No, but we should anyway.”

“You’re better at this than you think you are. Anyway, we don’t have to deal with any staff so it shouldn’t be too difficult.”

“Don’t jinx it.”

Jack smiled and shook his head before offering his hand with the invisibility pendant sitting in his palm. It could cloak more than one person as long as they had contact with it. Ianto grasped his hand before they both headed out. As it was still relatively early the hallways were pretty much empty other than a rather industrial looking roomba on its usual cleaning route. That was until the ground floor but that was to be expected. It wasn’t easy to dodge people when they had no idea you were there and you couldn’t see where your own body was. Ianto had to pull Jack back at the last moment before an excited looking preteen ran right into him. That would have been hard to explain. While Jack had been contacting the hub Ianto had been changing a few details on the hotels computer system. Notably their hand print access from guest to executive staff. This meant once they got to the staff only door they could get through. The frosted glass door closed silently behind them, blocking out any sound from the lobby. The staff area wasn’t as fancy as the guests areas but they were still clean and tidy. As expected they were also empty, bar a locker room where the catering staff had their coats hanging next to their lockers. Beyond that there were a couple of dark offices that looked like they’d never been used and a door that wasn’t made of glass. Bingo. 

The scanner flashed red, access denied.

“Damn.” Jack breathed.

Ianto pulled Jack aside gently. “Let me see. Just watch my back.” He let go of Jacks hand, immediately becoming visible again. Crouching down, he recognised the kind of digital lock that had been used. He’d seen it before. When a few of the old manual locks had been replaced in the archives he’d looked into these. They were sturdy but had one very exploitable fault. The circuitry was badly insulated and grounded so a small electrical jolt could completely disarm the mechanism. He took his taser and held it with the pins a few millimetres away from the metal locks shell. A quick snap and a small flash of light announced the death of the lock. The door slowly swung open and even though he couldn’t see Jack, Ianto could feel the boyish smile he was being given. 

“I’ll need to remember that.” Jack whispered as Ianto stood.

“It was more luck than skill but thank you.” He held up his hand for Jack to take, seeing it disappear the instant Jacks fingers found his. 

Beyond the door was a dimly lit hallway that led to a room that was illuminated by a soft blue glow. The far wall was covered in screens, half playing live camera feeds and the others showing the data that was being collected along with what could be considered medical scans showing a comfortably placed parasite. 

On the opposite wall sat tanks filled with water and more parasites. A table sat in the centre of the room with straps to hold down whatever was placed upon it. Finally between the table and the screens was a large chair. A figure sat facing the screens. It had a humanoid shape but it looked wrong somehow. Its arms looked bulbous and moved like something was hiding underneath the skin. It pulled itself to its feet and lumbered awkwardly towards the tanks. The figure hunched over the tank and opened its mouth far wider than a human should be able to. Eyes adjusting to low light the figure became a little more recognisable. It definitely had once been human but now it had been pulled horribly out of shape. Its cheeks had been split open by the extreme extension of its jaw. Jack and Ianto watched on in disgust as the figures throat distended and a large parasite made its way from the figures mouth and into the tank. Ianto held his free hand over his mouth as his stomach lurched. Jack just cringed and did his best to keep his composure and silence. To kill this thing the captain would need to aim for its head but that meant letting go of the invisibility. He tucked the pendant into Iantos palm, making sure he wouldn’t let go of the thing before pulling his hands away. Depending on if the figure noticed him appear he’d still only have a few moments to aim and fire before the other parasites would start making a fuss. He raised his pistol and fired. The figure turned, a hole oozing blood from the side of its head. Its mouth fell open and a dead parasite slithered out before splattering on the floor. The growths all over its body began to move, each creature fighting to take over the body. The tanks began to foam with activity. So much for dealing with this quietly. 

Ianto tapped his earpiece, trusting that the noise would cover his voice. “We need some backup in here.”

“On our way.” Owen replied.

“From the front door it’s to your right. Get in however you can.”

Owen sprinted into the building, followed by Elise, and looked to the glass wall. “Eli, think your arm can punch through that?”

She flexed the metal fingers of her left hand before punching the glass door with all her might. The door shattered but was held by the protective film, collecting the tiny cubes of glass on its surface. She gripped it in the centre and pulled it away, enough to get through. The people in the lobby ran in terror at the sudden act of violence. Tosh could block any calls to the police thankfully. With the glass out of the way they ran down the corridor, through the still open security door, seeing the blue glow. The parasite riddled figure, now with a few more bullet holes decorating its head, lurched towards Jack. The room was suddenly plunged into complete darkness. The fail safe had tripped at the absolute worst time. It was like the gremlin knew. The lights flickered back on again and Toshiko’s voice could be heard over coms.

“The hotel has a separate power source. I can’t block it.”

The screens lit up to show the shambling entity inches from Owens face. It grabbed him and threw him. He rolled over the table and slammed into the chair. The figure tried to run, only to be followed by Jack and Elise. Both angry and more than a little worried about Owens condition. 

Ianto ran to check on the stunned doctor. Owen looked up at his workmate as he appeared out of thin air. 

He rolled onto his front and let Ianto help him up, his whole body aching. The door to the room slammed shut and the lock engaged, blue sparks arching over the metal. Being locked in wasn’t the worst of their worries as the creatures in the tanks reached out with their long, jellyfish-like, tendrils.

“How far do you think the wires from those screens will reach?” Coughed Owen, still winded. 

Ianto looked for where the cables trailed and saw them spooled together. He grabbed one of the monitors and wrenched it from its frame on the wall, the small bolts holding it giving out. He launched the thing into one of the tanks and it threw sparks into the air. The electricity frying the parasites living inside the tank. He summoned up all of the anger he felt that he couldn’t have just one damn break without this sort of thing ruining it and pulled a second monitor down, repeating it for each tank until every single one of the parasites was dead, twitching from the charge running through them alone. They only stopped when Owen unplugged that line of monitors. Ianto slid to the floor, catching his breath and realising how much his arms hurt. He’d been running on pure adrenaline and he simply hadn’t felt the damage he was doing to himself. 

Jack fired three more shots into the back of the figures head, trying to stop it from escaping. The thing staggered but the parasites piloting the body had essentially lined up so another could take over immediately. Change of plan. Jack put all his energy into a burst of speed and swept the figures legs out from under them. They both skidded across the polished floor of the lobby. In the full light Jack vaguely recognised the body that was being puppeted, though it only had half of a face left, it was the hotels owner Carlos Essex. At least it had been. Carlos pulled himself up on all fours and grabbed one of the parasites from the gap in his face and threw it at Jack. The thing exploded in midair as Elise caught up and shot it before it landed. The last few creatures rose through Carlos’ neck, ready to try and take over one of the two viable bodies in front of him. 

“Need a new body.” The parasite in control clicked with a voice that sounded like millions of beetles moving across glass. 

“Well, you’re not getting one here.” Jack growled, back up on his feet and very much ready to finish this. 

“You can not stop us.”

“I beg to differ.”

Carlos fell under a hail of gunfire, falling backwards onto the reflective floor. 

Jack tapped his earpiece. “Owen, are you still in one piece?”

“Yep. Problem is we’re locked in here.” Owen replied, having finally caught his breath. 

“You’re not the only ones.” The heavy metal shutters had, at some point, been closed over the front doors. “Tosh, any chance of you getting us out of here?”

The sound of furious typing could be heard behind Toshiko's calm voice. “I’m working on it. The gremlin has more direct control than I do. It’s trapped inside the hotel so if you can disable the generator it should starve quickly.”

“We’ll see what we can find. Just keep that thing from hurting anyone.”

“Will do.”

Elise flicked a piece of the deceased parasites exoskeleton from Jacks sleeve. “Did you see any sign of a generator?”

“No, but being as we can’t keep this quiet anymore we should probably ask any staff we can find. We should start with the kitchen staff.”

Ianto rolled his shoulders, the muscles in his arms pulsing but not as painful as before. “So, we just wait?”

“Looks like it. That door’s made of metal so there’s no way I can knock it down.” Owen shrugged, annoyed that he was essentially useless stuck in this windowless box of a room. 

This was going to be uncomfortable. It wasn’t as if they really got along that well so in general they just avoided each other unless absolutely necessary. Then again Owen had eased off recently, he guessed because Elise would have been more than a little annoyed. 

“Would have been nice if they had some heating in here.” Said Owen, breaking the silence. It was unusually cold for a room with so many electronic devices. 

“Think there’s a vent?”

“Not one we could climb through.”

“I was thinking more to block it up.”

“With what? We have computers and dead bugs in here.”

“Stick enough insect corpses in there and the cold won’t be a problem.”

“No, it would make different problems. Warmer than the hub was this morning.” 

“Try waking up to it.”

“Jack worried about the heating bill or something?”

“No, the boiler just needs replacing and it’s beyond my skill set. It takes a couple of hours to warm up.”

“You’re kidding.” Owen laughed.

“I wish I was. We have technology from thousands of years in the future and across multiple galaxies but we still use a boiler from the 1800’s.”

“Sounds about right. I’ll give you a hand if you want. That thing’s not going to last forever.”

“Really?”

“Yea. Why not?”

“I always got the impression you’d only be around me under pain of desk duty.”

Owen shrugged. “I’ve got nothing against you personally. I think you just spout a lot of bullshit and I’ve got no time to deal with it.”

Ianto raised an eyebrow. “Eh?”

“Oh come on. You think I can’t tell whenever you’re lying? The others might buy it but I sure as fuck don’t.”

Ianto turned to look at Owen in the dim light, eyes narrowed. “What has Elise been telling you?”

“She hasn’t told me a thing. I’ve known you were full of shit from the second I met you. Going by when the power surges in the archives stopped it looks like I was right.” He didn’t sound like he was getting anything out of this, just stating a fact. He wasn’t wrong. 

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Not my business. Didn’t appreciate the surprise body though. Wish you’d just told me.”

“What would I have said? The love of my life was half cybernised and I found her dead this morning. Mind dealing with her body for me?” He snarled, pulling his knees up to his chest.

“Yea, but it doesn’t matter now. You should have stopped lying to us there and then. You think you’re the only one who’s been through hell?!” 

“What would you know?”

Owen gave the kind of laugh that said he was on the verge of losing his temper and beating the man until he stopped moving. “Listen you jumped up arsehole, don’t you dare come at me with that self pitying bullshit! You weren’t the only one who lost someone you loved! At least you got to say goodbye! At least you’ve still got family who care if you’re dead or alive! You’re not the only one with a fucked up childhood so get down off your high horse before you get knocked the fuck off!” 

“How do you know about that?” He asked through gritted teeth.

“Finding a body I didn’t put into one of those draws is a big red flag so I started looking into who she was and that lead back to you. I’ve seen the police records about your dad. I’ve seen every note that Torchwood one kept on you. For once in your life be honest about who you are.”

“I hate who I am!” He shouted, face burning.

“Well join the fucking club. God I hope you’re more honest with Jack than you are with the rest of us because not even he deserves that!” 

Neither man had moved but Ianto felt as if he’d been punched. He had no answer so he just looked away. After a moment of silence he asked quietly. “That was the one thing you’ve never given me stick about… Why?”

“What about?” Owen had calmed to a low simmer.

“Me and Jack. You tease him but not me.”

“I’d be a bit of a hypocrite if I did.”

“Please tell me you and Jack haven’t-”

“No.” He laughed. “He annoys me too much for that.”

“I didn’t know you were bi.”

“My love life is none of anyone else's business.”

“How do you deal with it?”

“I can’t believe I’m having this conversation with you, but I’ll tell you a secret. Life gets a lot easier when you realise no one else gives two shits who you’re fucking. Stereotypes were made up by straight white men who hated everyone around them, they mean nothing, and if you somehow manage to find one person in this fucked up world that loves you, you hold onto them and never let go regardless of gender… And Jack does love you.”

“I… I know.”

“Why did you have to make this weird when we’re locked in here with no idea how long it’s going to be until we get out.”

“You started it.” He smirked. 

“Oh fuck off Ianto.”

The hotels head chef had shut down the kitchen, knowing something had gone very wrong. The ice machine was still throwing cubes across the floor and making it too dangerous to even walk in there. She sat at a dining table, trying to call maintenance who weren’t answering. Jack pulled out a chair and sat across from her.

“You’re the head chef.”

“I am. Can I help you?” She asked, confused, and placed down her phone.

“Do you know where the generator keeping all of this running is?” 

“I … Um… Who are you?”

“The one who’s fixing this mess.”

“Well, I’m not sure. I’ve been trying to get through to maintenance but my signal’s dead.-” She said nervously, not taking her eyes off the captain. “You could try the basement level.”

“Basement level? That wasn’t on the blueprints.”

“The only access is past the pool area. Over at the deep end there’s a security door with a staff only sign. I think it’s through there. Do you know when we’ll be able to get out?”

“Soon. Just let us deal with it.” He smiled, standing to leave. 

“Wait, what should I tell people?”

“Stay away from the lobby and get their things together. Get out as soon as the shutters open.” 

Elise looked very nauseous as she followed Jack. “Why did it have to be past the pool?”

“I thought you were trying to work through that.”

“I was but nearly drowning because of that kelpie set me back. I haven’t been to the pool since.”

“You can wait here if you want.”

“I’m not letting you go off alone. I’ll just hug the wall and I’ll be fine.”

“If you’re sure.” He paused for a moment, looking at her.

“What?”

“I like the haircut. It suits you.”

“Thanks.” She smiled, her nerves easing just a little.

After rushing through three sets of doors, avoiding confused and frightened guests they reached the pool area. It was huge and even had a large curling slide. Elise stayed close to the far wall while Jack walked ahead. He stopped as he noticed a slight vibration under his feet. 

“What’s wrong?”

The movement of the water answered her question. The wave machine had switched on and instead of the slow build from the ebb and flow of the water, jets of water switched on and off throwing high waves of water over the sides of the pool. Water washed over Jacks boots as he realised he wasn’t being followed anymore. Looking back he saw that Elise was frozen to the spot.

“Elise.” He called, trying to get her attention away from the water that threatened to wash them both into the pool. 

She didn’t look up. She just closed her eyes. ”Just go. I’ll catch up.” 

Each movement of the water threw it higher so he wasn’t just going to leave her. He turned back and wrapped an arm around her. “I’m not going to let you get washed away.”

She gripped onto his shirt with shaking hands and kept her eyes firmly closed, trusting him to lead her the right way. 

By the time they reached the staff only door both of their boots were full of water. He reached for the hand scanner when Elise stopped him. 

“Wait!”

“What?” 

“Can’t you feel that?”

“Feel what-” He began before it hit him. A static hum hung in the air around the scanner. It was live. “It’s trying to stop us getting down there.” 

“What do we do now?”

“It’s not a reinforced door.” He smiled before taking a few steps back and kicking it as hard as he could, the thin wood splintering away from the lock. “They always forget that the door needs to be as strong as the lock.”

She hurried down the steps and away from the water, though it ran down the first few steps and down the side to the floor below. The loud rumble of a large generator filled the area. Thankfully the room was lit and had been designed to properly vent the fumes from the generator so they wouldn’t be choking through smog. The maintenance man lay next to the generator, smoke still rising from his burnt skin and clothing. He must have gone down as soon as he realised something was wrong. The smell was awful but there was nothing that could be done about that now. Jack steeled himself to possibly end up like that as the generator still needed to be switched off and the entity would be desperate to stop him. 

“I’ve got this.” Elise smiled, waving with her left hand. “First thing I did with this is make sure it was fully insulated.”

“Be careful.”

She gripped the lever that worked as an on and off switch, sparks dancing around her fingers and pulled it down hard. Every light bulb above them exploded as a crackling screech rose throughout the whole building. For a moment everyone was plunged into darkness before the shutters began to rise, allowing the bright winter sun to shine in. 


End file.
